After trying a few times without success because of the economy and a lack of job opportunities, Annie and I started to wonder if we weren't meant to stay in Oregon. We moved to Hillsboro to be closer to work and even though we were renting to avoid establishing roots, we started to look at houses again and thinking of buying. We decided on Annie going back to school which was going to be a 3 - 5 year commitment in Oregon. We got the kids in good schools and we started making friends in Hillsboro that we would miss. And of course we wanted to stay closer to Sara and Spencer.
Even though we never made the decision to stay in Oregon we did lose the goal of moving to Colorado. We both felt kind of lost and unsure of what the future would bring and we were living somewhat complacently. We became very busy with Annie's school and everything else life was bringing to us. Our focus became just surviving the day to day, and whenever we looked up to see the direction we were headed in we really couldn't see very far.
Then one day in a regular one on one meeting with my boss at work, he told me that he was moving into a new position at Intel and he thought that I should apply for the management position he was leaving. I have never done management and wasn't sure if I would want to, but it would be a promotion and potentially a very good opportunity for my career. I knew this particular management position would be extremely stressful and even more so for me as a new manager. It was exciting to think about, but I did not feel good about it, and I wasn't sure if I wanted to bring the additional stress to my family. I decided not to apply for the position, but this opportunity forced me to think long term about my career and where I wanted it to go. At Intel there are well defined tracks for both management and technical positions, but the industry and corporate USA as a whole seem to value managers a bit more. I could probably become a good manager with enough time and experience, but I really like the technical aspect of my job and I'm not sure I would want to lose that. As I was thinking about management versus technical, Annie and I finally decided that what was more important than a position, was our family and being closer to family. So instead of targeting a specific career position, or type of position, we started to again, target Colorado.
At first we made the goal to do whatever it took to get to Colorado after Annie was done with school in a few years. We hoped by then the economy would improve, and that it would be easier to find work. Thinking about this goal, our future became somewhat clearer than the uncertain cloud we had been living with, and we were excited to have a defined goal again and have something to work towards.
In a discussion with her mom, Annie was expressing some concern about the school program she would be doing and the stress it would bring to the family, and she was asking her mom if she would be able to come help us during a term or two. In the discussion Kaylene suggested that Annie do the program in Colorado and that we try to move before the program started. Annie only had a few prerequisite classes left before applying to the program in Oregon, so that didn't give us much time, but in discussing it, we really liked the idea and it felt good. We weren't very hopeful that it would work out, but we started the process again for trying.
It was this decision to start the process again that actually got us here to Colorado. Thinking back to my bosses suggestion to me to make a pretty severe career change was just the nudge we needed to reevaluate our long term goals and get out of the complacency we had been living with. I have no doubt that Heavenly Father had a hand in helping us to make this decision and that he set up the events that caused us to make the decision that eventually brought us here to where we are today.
No comments:
Post a Comment